Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes $20.14 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 256,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,144,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.12% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $46.80 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.94.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.